1:30 PM: I arrive at the Biltmore Hotel, ready for a night in the huge Al Capone Suite, a few very good meals, a swim in a giant pool, and maybe some ghosts. There were no ghosts, but there would be a door that opened itself later in the evening. I check in, and head upstairs to have a quick look around before afternoon tea in the lobby.

In the elevator I discover the suite is on the 13th floor. Yep, unlike many buildings that superstitiously omit the 13th floor, the Biltmore doesn’t. There’s a small elevator lobby with double doors, leading to the suite’s foyer that enters into a small kitchen and the grand double-height living room. This is a really mind-blowing suite. A massive stone fireplace is in front of you, there is a dining table on the right, a sitting area in the middle, and a large desk to the left. A piano is also to the left. Windows on the far ends look out onto balconies which are accessed through small side-doors that also lead to the suite’s other spaces. A balconied mezzanine encircles the room, with a vaulted, chandelier-mounted, frescoed ceiling above. The suite occupies two entire floors of the hotel’s tower.